/poem and art by clinock / art: sculpted and painted clay heads in windowed box / each head approx. 3 inches high /

This series is based on the shared stories and personal experiences of people I work with in an art studio attached to a mental health facility. I express what I have heard as both fact and creative metaphor.

This is a heavy one Dad. As are most of the “inside looking out pieces”. Anger, tiredness, confusion. It is interesting because really everyone is inside looking out aren’t we? We all have our own box, our restrictions, our biases and frame of reference. Learning to slowly chop down the certain walls of that box that restrict us, and maybe we can keep the “frame” of the box that has become our ethics, morals and way of life. For we build a frame to help us evolve but we can’t be afraid to renovate. Beautiful sculpting though. I admire it.

Sam…thank you. You make me proud when I read your perceptive, clear and wise words. Yes, absolutely this is how the cookie crumbles for those of us still somewhat in touch with our senses, cognition and self awareness. However, the lost souls of the stories at the source of these poems and art live in a different world – one that is beyond our conventions and behavioral norms. Your comment is cohesive and thoughtful and I appreciate it very much – love you – Keep On Truckin’…